It is conventional to form a tamper-indicating closure having a band connected to a skirt by integral frangible means, such as frangible bridges or a frangible web. The band has a stop element (e.g., a flange or a bead) that engages a bead on the container finish to resist unthreading of the closure, so that removal of the closure ruptures the frangible means that connect the band to the skirt. U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 33,265, 4,322,009 and 4,432,461, assigned to an assignee of the present application, disclose tamper-indicating closures of this character, in which the tamper-indicating band is completely severed from the closure skirt and remains on the container upon removal of the closure from the container. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,295,600 and 6,224,802, also assigned to an assignee of the present application, disclose tamper-indicating closures in which the tamper-indicating band remains connected to the closure skirt and is removed from the container with the closure.
Although tamper-indicating closures and packages of the types disclosed in the noted patents have enjoyed substantial commercial acceptance and success, further improvements remain desirable. For example, problems are encountered when employing this type of closure in so-called wet finish applications, in which liquid may spill during or after the filling operation onto the outside surface of the container so as to be disposed between the container finish and the closure skirt after capping. Wet finish situations of this type are encountered during, for example, hot-fill, cold-fill and aseptic-fill situations, in which the containers are filled close to the brim or to overflow prior to capping. Wet finish situations can also be encountered during filling operations in which liquid may drip from the filling machinery onto the container finish. In wet finish situations of this type, problems are encountered in connection with draining and drying of the area between the outside surface of the container finish and the inside of the closure skirt—i.e., between the threads on the container finish and skirt, and around the tamper-indicating band and the stop element. Liquid trapped within this area can result in growth of mold or mildew, and when dry undesirably increases the torque required for removal of the closure from the container.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,119,883 and 6,152,316, assigned to an assignee of the present application, disclose tamper-indicating closures in which drain openings are provided at the juncture of the tamper-indicating band and the stop flange—i.e., through the stop flange adjacent to the band, through the band adjacent to the stop flange, or through the hinge portion in both the stop flange and the tamper-indicating band. A plurality of these drain openings, disposed in a circumferentially spaced array around the closure, improve product drainage in the area of the tamper-indicating band and the stop flange. U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,940, assigned to an assignee of the present application, illustrates a closure having drain openings at the juncture of the stop flange and the band, and openings in a flared portion of the closure skirt for admitting flushing solution. This helps flush liquid from between the container finish and the closure in the area of the stop flange and the tamper-indicating band.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a closure and/or a container and/or a closure and container package that is/are specifically constructed to improve liquid product drainage from between the container finish and the closure in wet finish and other similar situations. Another and related object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing such a closure and/or container.